Salem SWAT Team in Standoff Monday Evening (VIDEO EXCLUSIVE)

The police standoff began around 6:30 PM at 2115 Liberty Road NE, near the intersection of Pine.

Salem-News.com's Kevin Montgomery recorded this blast as SWAT officers began firing tear gas shells into the building

(SALEM) - Salem Police spent their evening involved in a standoff with a man that began around 6:30 PM. All traffic near the house near the intersection of Pine and Liberty was been blocked off for several hours, and drivers passing through the area were diverted.

Neighbors in the Pine/Liberty area were advised to remain indoors, with police suspecting that the man was armed and may be dangerous.

One local business owner, Lorne Brown of Excel Marketing was blocked from his home and his office in this normally calm neighborhood, `We`ve been here for several months and it is really calm, nothing like this happens around here."

Some people who live nearby say it began with an apparent argument between a man and a woman. They said they heard police officers yelling "Ted Nelson, come out."

Salem Police say the incident stems from an ongoing narcotics investigation. They surrounded the house at 2115 Liberty Road and began calling the man out to no avail.

Neighbors like Lettie Broxson say it is hard to comprehend what brings people into these kind of situations. `I just don`t understand why somebody would do that, bring weapons into a house."

Police used robots as Salem SWAT and Bomb Squads stayed in the area in full force. At 9:45 PM they fired tear gas into the building, the video recorded by Salem-News.com photojournalist/reporter Kevin Montgomery who was on the scene.

Around 2:00 AM Salem Police made their final push into the house, discovering that the man they were searching for had either escaped, or not been there in the first place.

Watch the video report by Salem-News.com's Tim King below
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